Cañon City High School students receive NRCS award

Group receives award for reseeding of Hogbacks area

Cañon City High School Environmental Club members and JROTC students receive the Natural Resources Conservation Service Earth Team National Award on Tuesday at the school. Pictured from left to right in the front row are: Colleen McCleary, state earth team coordinator; Phyllis Philipps, state conservationist; Jill Decker, middle school science teacher and parent representative; Carrie Trimble, CCHS Environmental Club sponsor and science teacher; Astor Boozer, regional conservationist based in Washington, DC; and Nicole Yu. Second row: Kiera Herndon; Taylor Vestring; Zak Samora; Jarod Stevens; Matthew Hill; Bret Meuli, CCHS principal; Rick Romano, district conservationist; and Melanie Scavarda, NRCS farm bill specialist. Back row: Robert Rudnik; Anthony Glover; Dylan Miezwa; Nicholis McClure; and John Knapp, area conservationist. (Carie Canterbury/Daily Record)

Working outside in the rain and snow isn't exactly a fun task on a chilly, spring day, but 22 Cañon City High School students persevered last year when they partnered with the Fremont Conservation District to re-seed a section of the Hogbacks area.

The school's environmental science club and members of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps were recognized for their efforts Tuesday when they received the Natural Resources Conservation Service Earth Team National Award at the school.

Astor Boozer of the NRCS from Washington, D.C., made Tuesday's presentation.

"There is only one national award, and we really appreciate the work that you did," he said. "I also appreciate the teachers working with the students because that gets people involved."

Students worked to rehabilitate two acres of land in April of 2011.

"The Hogbacks are an area of local interest," said Rick Romano of the FCD. "It's an area that's been used for years by many of the people in Cañon City, and the plan for several years has been to try and get it re-vegetated because of the impact of motorized vehicles."

The project is an experiment to find the best way to reclaim the area that had been impacted, Romano said.

"The beauty of working with native grass is that it's very patient, and we need to be patient, too," he said. "When the right conditions come in, we should start seeing some vegetation."

CCHS science teacher Carrie Trimble has sponsored the group for 20 years.

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She said students are working on several projects around the school and in the community. The club has maintained a River Watch program for about 25 years and helped to restore the area where the Ecology Park now is located. The group earned a presidential award for their work on the Ecology Park twice, she said, and she also has earned Environmental Teacher of the Year award for the state.

"We're totally surprised to receive this award because with the drought -- we thought it was a failure," she said. "But the seeds are just sitting there dormant waiting for the weather to happen -- and when it does happen, hopefully, we can prevent erosion."

Senior Nicholis McClure is the president of the environmental science club. This is his fourth year in the club.

"It's nice to get involved in something that is national," he said.

Boozer encouraged students to "keep up the great work" and asked them to thank their fellow students who could not attend Tuesday's event.

"We need to keep our environment safe, healthy and strong," he said.

Romano also acknowledged Rex Brady, parks foreman for the City of Cañon City, for the donation of his time and materials to help complete the project.

"He was instrumental in providing some equipment that we needed and was there through the planning process," he said.

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